Updates on Baker, Best

[Peter Delevett <pdelevett@xxxxxxxxx>]

Awful quiet out there, folks ... 


C's coach checks in on Baker

by Mark Murphy
Thursday, July 24, 2003

Jim O'Brien arrived in Miami yesterday on an outreach
mission that could go a long way toward defining the
Celtics' frontcourt needs next season.

 The Celtics coach was scheduled to have dinner with
Vin Baker last night, then watch the Celtics forward
work out today.

Baker, who left the team last season to deal with
alcohol-related health issues, has taken part in what
has been described as an intense workout regimen this
summer in an attempt to resurrect his NBA career.

Baker, who turned down the Celtics' offer to play in
last week's summer league, has instead been working
out this month under the supervision of Alonzo
Mourning's trainer in Miami, reportedly with
impressive results.

O'Brien, who gets to see for himself today, agrees
with the reports that Baker has attacked his workouts
with a hungry, relentless approach.

``Absolutely,'' O'Brien said yesterday. ``And I
expected nothing less. He really set up an aggressive
schedule for himself.''

[Note: on one hand, I'm a little bummed Baker wouldn't
play in summer league if the team asked him to. Though
maybe he realized that, at best, he would raise
expectations by playing above scrub competition, and
at worst, he'd look like a fool. On the bright side,
if Alonzo Mourning's trainer can make Baker look
anything like Zo ... Yeah, unlikely I know, because Zo
has such a huge appetite for self-improvement. I mean,
I could work out with Zo's trainer and still look like
a shlub.]

O'Brien last saw Baker two weeks ago during teammate
Antoine Walker's charity golf tournament in
Connecticut.

``He was in a golf outfit, but I think he looks very
lean,'' said O'Brien, who had similar things to say
about Walker, who has reportedly lost 17 pounds thanks
to an offseason nutritional program.

A revitalized, well-conditioned Baker would obviously
give the Celtics a tremendous boost - especially after
their inability to attract a major free agent this
summer.

Director of basketball operations Danny Ainge has said
on several occasions that he looks forward to seeing
what Baker can add.

``His conditioning is better, and I understand that
there's been weight loss,'' said Ainge, who admittedly
is already tired of discussing the issue. ``I'm
getting tired of talking about it, but it's a wait and
see issue for us. Ultimately, he has to show up in
October, and then we'll see who he is.''

But in the meantime, O'Brien is guardedly optimistic
about the player who left the team last season, and
the one he will watch during today's workout.

``One of the things we're focused on is having
everyone on our team take a step forward,'' O'Brien
said. ``It's our hope that Vin and the others are in
the type of shape where we can get off to a quick
start in October.''

Celtics notes

Though general manager Chris Wallace and Forest King,
the agent representing Travis Best, talked yesterday,
there was not further progress on negotiations with
the free agent point guard.

Though Best wants to play for the Celtics, he has
pulled up short of accepting the team's minimum salary
offer, hoping instead for a deal close to the $1.4
million he earned from Miami last year.

The Celtics, who would be hit with a luxury tax
penalty if they paid Best anything over the minimum,
will not budge from that bottom line, according to a
team source. The team is now happy to let Best test
the market, with Indiana, Utah and Chicago all on his
shopping list.

[In other words, don't be surprised if Best ends up in
Utah, with all that cap room they can't give away.
Hello, Bimbo Coles? Chris Wallace calling.]

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